Winter charm

The day starts and I can see the country all around covered in frost, like a thin white carpet that is going to hide with the morning sun. I like to smell the smoke from firewoods and the old cooking flavors of this little town in Extremadura.

Many years ago, sheep flocks came down from the north of Spain through old rural paths, just to pass the winter. Nowadays, the visitor can see sheep flocks going through some towns and roads at the beginning of winter.

Every winter, about 75.000 cranes goes to Extremadura. This region is nowadays the main winter habitat for the european crane. Cranes cover in three weeks 3.000 kilometers from their nesting habitats in the North of Europe.

From the end of October to February, visitors can watch this beautiful bird in many zones of Extremadura.

Monfrague National Park has the biggest breeding colony of Monk Vulture or Eurasian Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus), the worldwide biggest concentration of Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti) and one of the biggest colonies of Black Storks (Ciconia nigra).

Extremadura is also the best choice in winter for other birds: common woodpigeons (columba palumbus), eurasian hoopoes (upupa epops) or starlings (sturnus)...

FIO, the International Ornithological Tourism Fair or commonly knows as Extremadura Birdwatching Fair is on the last weekend of February, into the Monfrague National Park.

Winter in this region is not so cold, it has Mediterranean climate, with long and mild winters because the proximity of the Atlantic coast of Portugal. Maybe, the north of Caceres or the mountain ranges at Guadalupe (at the east) are places with lower temperatures, but the average temperature in winter is over 8ºC

Visitors can practise skiing in the near Covatilla Ski Station, located in the Bejar Mountain Range (Salamanca) a few kilometers from Plasencia and the northern Extremadura: Valley of Ambroz, Valley of Jerte or La Vera.

These valleys have their own climate, milder than the mountain zones located in the north. So many people choose to stay in hotels or rural houses of those valleys and they go to the Covatilla Ski Station for a skiing day. It's a good choice, because they can combine relax, cultural tourism and winter sports all in one.

Winter is also a perfect season to enjoy the cultural and artistic events:

Extremadura Estación Cultura
Escena Extremadura
Cultura Extremadura

...or to visit some of the interesting museums and ancient monuments and historical cities in the region.

There are many festivals, feasts and cultural events:

• Las Carantoñas. January the 20th
• The miterious Jarramplas. January 19th and 20th
• Candelas, the magic night in Almendralejo. February, 1st night
• Carnival in Badajoz, Navalmoral and many other cities of Extremadura.
• The Pero Palo feast.
• FIO - Extremadura Birdwatching Fair. Monfrague

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